MUMBAI: The tough, viciously turning pitch at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium for the second T20I between India and New Zealand on January 29, which was dubbed as a "shocker" by India's T20I captain Hardik Pandya, has escaped sanctions or any demerit point by the International Cricket Council, with former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath, who was the ICC match referee for that game, rating the pitch as "average."
The match saw New Zealand manage to score just 99 for 8 in 20 overs, while India managed to reach the target with just a ball to spare. In a rare occasion in T20 cricket, not a single six was hit during the match, which witnessed 30 out of 40 overs of spin on a track where the ball turned square. "To be honest, this was a shocker of a wicket," Hardik told Star Sports at the post-match presentation.
